Handheld work apparatus driven by an internal combustion engine are generally well known. When starting the internal combustion engine of a handheld work apparatus with a starter device having a spring, the starter spring is first wound and energy is stored in the starter spring. In this way, the piston moves in the direction toward top dead center and builds up the compression in the combustion chamber. An equilibrium arises between the compression pressure in the combustion chamber and the torque on the crankshaft which is generated by the starter spring. The compression pressure in the combustion chamber thereby remains constant. The gas mass in the combustion chamber can slowly reduce because of leakages in the cylinder, for example, at the piston rings. This leads to the situation that the piston is moved slowly further in the direction toward top dead center until there is an equilibrium between the gas pressure in the combustion chamber and the torque generated by the spring at the crankshaft. Because of the lever relationships at the crankshaft, the piston can then overcome the top dead center after reaching a constructively pregiven position in the cylinder and the engine can start.
The delay which occurs because of the slow escape of gas from the combustion chamber is unwanted when starting an internal combustion engine.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,441 and German patent publication 32 15 169, it is known to provide escape grooves or escape channels in the cylinder for engines not having a spring starting device with these grooves or channels connecting the combustion chamber with a transfer channel or with the outlet of the engine. The gas volume in the combustion chamber can reduce rapidly during starting because of these escape grooves. The escape grooves connect directly to a function opening, namely, with a transfer channel or the outlet. For this reason and during normal operation of the engine, uncombusted fuel can escape through the outlet. During operation, the compression is reduced so that the engine power can be reduced because of the connection of an escape groove with a function opening.